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Westminster College Students Participated in Trip Around the World Presentations

Posted on Thursday, May 2, 2013

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Five students from Westminster College's Language in Motion program gave presentations at Wilmington Area Middle School April 18-19.

Drawing on their international travel and study abroad experiences, the Westminster students took more than 100 fifth-graders on the second annual "trip around the world." The Westminster students included:

Meghan Blumer, a junior Spanish major, brought her audience to Chile through a presentation on its geography, history, language and culture. Blumer is a daughter of Michael and Kathy Blumer of Wexford and a graduate of Pine-Richland High School.

Ariana Carr, a sophomore early childhood/special education major, gave a presentation exploring Brazilian culture through literature and dance. Carr is a daughter of David and Barbara Carr of Pulaski and a graduate of Wilmington Area High School.

Patrick Dever, a senior international business major with a minor in Spanish, brought the class to Peru with a presentation based on his travels in that country. Dever is a son of Leon Dever and Carolyn Nichols of Salt Lake City, Utah, and a graduate of Highland High School.

Hillary Leslie, a junior English major, gave a presentation on Scotland and the United Kingdom, emphasizing the differences between British and American culture. Leslie is a daughter of Laurie Leslie and Michael Leslie, New Wilmington, and a graduate of Wilmington Area High School.

Sydney Spain, a senior Spanish major and mathematics minor, gave her audience insight into the ancient Mayans and their contemporary descendants. Spain is a daughter of Thomas and Pamela Spain of Batavia, Ill., and a graduate of Batavia High School.

Language in Motion is coordinated by Milagros Swerdlow, Westminster Spanish lecturer. The presentations were the result of collaboration between the Language in Motion program and the school district's fifth-grade teachers: Mrs. Domalik, Mrs. Gill, Mrs. Moore, Ms. Shaw and Ms. Watson.

Language in Motion, in its seventh year at Westminster, is an innovative outreach program that gives study-abroad returnees, international students, and upper-level language students the opportunity to create language and cultural activities for presentation in K-12 language, social studies, and other classes where culture can be studied.

Westminster's Language in Motion program is sponsored by Westminster's Department of Modern Languages and the Heritage Chair of Humanities.